Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Earlier this week a number of local news outlets reported that a first grader at a local Catholic school was suspended for three days for pretending to shoot one or more other students with an imaginary bow and arrow.

According to the boy's parents, Matthew and Martha Miele, the overtly hostile threat of extreme violence happened while their son was playing a game of Power Rangers during recess. A level headed teacher witnessed the brutish intimidation and responsibly brought it to the attention of Principal Joe Crachiolo.

That afternoon, Martha Miele said she was contacted by Principal Crachiolo regarding the matter.

"I didn't really understand. I had him on the phone for a good amount of time so he could really explain to me what he was trying to tell me. My question to him was 'Is this really necessary? Does this really need to be a three-day suspension under the circumstances that he was playing and he's 6 years old?"

It is more than apparent that the Miele's do not apprehend the seriousness of the situation. Of course all right thinking people understand that imaginary weapons can be just as dangerous as real ones and that childish horseplay is equivalent to threats of violence. Principal Crachiolo appears to understand this, based on a letter he sent to the Miele's which in part stated "I have no tolerance for any real, pretend, or imitated violence. The punishment is an out of school suspension."

So here's to you Principal Crachiolo. Kudos to your tenacity at maintaining your belief that zero tolerance is the best policy even against the flood of evidence that it doesn't make schools safer. Good for you for ignoring the evidence that suspending kids for seemingly frivolous things increases the likelihood that they would have to repeat a grade, which in turn increases the likelihood they will drop out. It's obvious you possess superior judgement skills and the school is fortunate to have you there to keep everyone safe.